Alopen

Alopen (the name may be a transliteration of the Semitic name Abraham, though scholars differ) is the earliest Jingjiao (景教, Church of the East) bishop recorded in history to have reached China. He was an envoy sent to China by the Assyrian Church of the East (the Nestorian branch of Christianity). In that period the Tang dynasty welcomed foreigners of every kind, from Syrian Christians and Turks to Persians of the Sasanian Empire.

In the 9th year of Zhenguan (635) of the Tang dynasty, the dade (大德, i.e. bishop) Alopen led a Nestorian mission from Persia to Chang'an, the Tang capital. Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered his chancellor Fang Xuanling (房玄龄) to welcome the mission in the western suburbs of Chang'an, and personally received Bishop Alopen. In the 12th year of Zhenguan (638) Jingjiao was recognized by the Tang court, and the Tang government funded the building of a monastery (church) in the Yining ward (义宁坊) of Chang'an. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Alopen was honoured as “Great Dharma Lord, Protector of the State” (镇国大法主).

Although Emperor Taizong, the reigning emperor, welcomed Bishop Alopen and funded the building of a church, he did not himself embrace Jingjiao. The Tang house honoured Laozi as its ancestor; Taizong favoured Daoism, while also giving support to Buddhism. Jingjiao eventually declined after the fall of the Tang dynasty, but it revived in the Middle Ages through the Khitans of Central Asia (the Western Liao) and China's Yuan dynasty.